Ryder's Day From Hell
by bLEWfire
Summary: A follow up to my previous one shot, "Trust Me" - this two-shot explores what happens when Ryder's secret gets out and how the Glee Club supports him. Bad summary... good story. T for references to sexual abuse.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So this is a follow up to the one shot I posted yesterday as a follow up to Light's Out. That one was called "Trust Me" and is a couple of missing scenes for that episode based on some resolution I thought needed to happen with Ryder's abuse storyline. This follows in that vein but details what happens after word gets out about Ryder's secret. I'm going to post it in 2 parts, because it's pretty long. I'll post part 2 sometime tomorrow. I also have some plans for a couple of other follow ups in this same storyline. One in which it's Jake's turn to confide in Ryder, and one in which Ryder finally finds out who his catfish is. Needless to say, this has probably already deviated from the show and will continue to do so. **

**WARNING: Discussion of child sexual abuse.**

**DISCLAIMER: Glee = not mine. I'm pretty bummed about it. No beta so mistakes are all mine. **

Ryder should have known it would be a bad day when he woke up before sunrise in a cold sweat. All the opening up he'd been doing lately... with Glee club and then later with Jake seemed to have triggered some of his old issues. Specifically, he'd woken up that morning to the same terrifying nightmare that had plagued him for months after "the incident" had happened when he was eleven. To his great relief, the nightmare appeared to be the only old nighttime habit that resurfaced. He was embarrassed to even consider the alternative.

Knowing there wasn't any chance of going back to sleep, he dragged himself out of bed and into a cold shower. When he was finished, it was still dark outside. He could hear some movement from downstairs and figured his dad was up and about-he'd always been an early riser. Ryder decided to stay upstairs in his room and work on some homework. He didn't want to show his face so early and run the risk of having to answer any awkward questions about why he was up.

With a weary sigh, he pulled out Marley's notes from their last English class. He'd skipped class and was trying to use her notes to catch up, but it was such a struggle for him to read Marley's handwriting that he was almost ready to give it up as a lost cause. It's not that Marley's handwriting was particularly messy, it was actually very neat, but for some reason, his dyslexia made it even harder to read handwritten text than printed text. He usually avoided missing class for exactly that reason, but the day before he'd just been too bogged down in memories of his past and concerns about his future to bear the thought of sitting through class. Luckily, he'd run into Jake on his way out and Jake had agreed to skip with him. Jake had driven them to the movies in his car so they could kill time without having to talk too much.  
He knew it was only a matter of time before his secret blew up. Mr. Schu had told him that he had to report it, and-as much as he loved his Glee friends-he could hardly count on all of them to keep their mouths shut forever. He knew the sooner or later someone would slip and he'd have to face life at McKinley High as the boy who cried molester. He wasn't looking forward to that day one bit, but the waiting was killing him. It'd been almost a week since he told Glee Club his secret, and he had yet to hear any whispers or face any serious repercussions.

After an hour of struggling to make minimal progress with Marley's notes, Ryder finally gave up and signed up to his Facebook chat. He only ever got on to talk to one person-Katie. But she had been mysteriously absent for the last several days. It was too bad because he could really use someone to talk to and he was sure Jake was getting tired of all of his crying and drama. His cursor hovered over Kitty's name - she was online and he knew she'd probably be up for talking. After a moment, he gave an exasperated sigh and closed his laptop instead of trying to start a conversation. He knew Kitty would be up for talking, but he still wasn't sure she could be fully trusted. Sure, her experience was similar to his, but he didn't know if she had struggled with the fallout the same way he had. Would she think he was crazy for still having nightmares about it? She seemed so much more together than him.

When he'd run out of ways to kill time in his room, he finally ventured downstairs and had a bowl of cereal before heading off to school early. His mom and dad had asked about his early departure, but he'd managed to mumble something about extra Glee Club practice. He actually did spend the last hour before classes started in the choir room, working on his solo part for the club's next group number.

When he walked into his English class for first period, he was surprised to find that Coach Beiste was absent. There was a sub there instead, a young woman-and he hoped that meant it would be an easy day. He was wrong.

"Ryder, will you read the next three paragraphs of Animal Farm for us?" She asked, without a trace of malice in her voice. Of course, she meant no harm. She was a stranger and she couldn't possibly know that her request could ruin his day. Coach Bieste knew all about his dyslexia-she knew better than to call on him for reading aloud in class, but this teacher didn't have a clue. Ryder glanced around the room pleadingly, hoping somebody would jump to his defense. No one did. Kitty was the only one in the room that knew about his learning disability, and he guessed that she was still angry with him for blowing off her Subway offer.

"Ryder-that's your name isn't it?" The sub asked again, sounding tentative.

Ryder cleared his throat and forced his attention back on the book in front of him.

"Uh... yeah," he said, and then he began the long, painful process of trying to unjumble the words in front of him. He stumbled over each of them, heat rising in his cheeks as his classmates around him began to snicker. He knew he sounded ridiculous-like a first grader. In his head, he begged the teacher to stop him or maybe for Brittany's meteor to finally hit the school and put him out of his misery. Eventually, the sub-having realized her mistake-did call on another student, but it only seemed to highlight his deficiency. When his turn at public torture was over, he found himself literally gripping his seat to keep from bolting out of the room. The bell couldn't ring fast enough.

GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG GGGGGGGGGGGGG

That first period was enough to make this day the worst one he'd had in awhile, but in second period things only got worse. Much worse.

After 35 minutes of a blissfully boring history lecture, Mr. Edgar's thoughts on the Spanish-American war were interrupted by a voice of the intercom.

"Ryder Lynn, please report to Principal Figgin's office. Ryder Lynn, please report to the principal's office."

Around him, the class let out a collective "oooooooo" and whispered about what kind of trouble he might be in. A few folks-those who had been in his first period too-snickered, undoubtedly thinking this was about his abysmal reading ability. For his part, Ryder had no idea at first what prompted the call.

But as he walked toward the front office, he remembered his secret-forgotten in the disaster of first period-and he knew that Mr. Schu must have reported it after all. It felt like there was a giant stone in his stomach, but it grew infinitely heavier as he turned the corner of the hallway and caught sight of his parents through the glass wall of Principal Figgin's office. They were joined by Figgins, Mr. Schu, and Ms. Pillsbury and none of them looked happy. His parents looked confused and worried, while the teachers looked serious and sad.

It took all of his resolve to walk to last twenty feet into the small office, and he couldn't bring himself to make eye contact with anyone as he stood awkwardly in the doorway.

"Ah, Mr. Lynn," Figgins said by way of greeting. "Why don't you have a seat?"

Ryder was grateful for the offer as he wasn't sure his legs would hold him and his dread up for long, but Figgins was the only other person in the room who was seated. As he sunk in the chair in front of him, the adults around him seemed to tower over him making him feel impossibly small and powerless.

Mr. Figgin's continued, "Ryder, Mr. Schuester informed me yesterday about what you revealed to the Glee Club the other day. After consulting with Ms. Pillsbury, we called your parents in. We were waiting for you to get here to catch them up to speed. Do you want to tell them yourself, or would you like for one of us to do it?

Ryder continued to stare at his feet. He was baffled. How could these teachers have possibly thought it was better to bring him in and subject him to this painful reveal?

His father's voice cut into his thoughts. "Son, what is this all about?" He asked, sounding concerned but also a bit impatient.

Ryder opened his mouth to speak but found he could form the words. To his horror, he felt his eyes begin to burn and well up. He cast a sideways glance toward Mr. Schu-who thankfully seemed to understand the unspoken message.

"Mr. and Mrs. Lynn, the other day in Glee class, Ryder told us that he had been molested by his babysitter. When he eleven. He said he'd never told anyone before. I was obligated to report the information."

Though he knew that Mr. Schu was trying to speak as matter-of-factly as possible for his sake, Ryder cringed as he heard the words. The seconds of silence that followed seemed to stretch on for an eternity.

Finally, his mother spoke. "Ryder?" she said, her voice thin.

"This is impossible," his father said, edging on anger. "What babysitter? Emily Parks? She wouldn't do something like... like that."

"Summer." Ryder said quietly. "It was Summer Wells."

"Summer?" His mother said again. "But she was so nice. You liked her. Don't you remember?"

"Ryder, what is this all about? She didn't... do something to you, did she? Maybe you're just confused." His father was trying to solve the situation, tuck it away, dismiss it. It was a special talent of his.

Ryder gave a hollow laugh, and felt his face flush as a few tears dripped to the floor.

Ms. Pillsbury spoke into the awkward quiet. Her voice caught Ryder off guard, and compelled him to look up at the adults around him for the first time. His mother and father still looked confused, but now they also looked upset. Mr. Schu looked tired. Ms. Pillsbury looked like she may regret what was she was about to say.

"Mr. and Mrs. Lynn, when children have been abused... sexually, they often show signs of psychological distress. Nightmares, withdrawing from social life, acting fearful, sometimes regressive behaviors, bedwetting..."

Ryder winced as he heard his mother's sharp intake of breath at the last word. "Oh Charles," she cried, her voice breaking as she turned to her husband. "The bedwetting... and the tantrums." She turned to Ryder, tears streaking her face, "Honey, is this why you started wetti-"

"Mom!" Ryder groaned, cutting her off. He was distinctly aware of the three teachers in the room and the fact that this deeply personal conversation had just gotten that much more embarrassing. He glanced quickly at Mr. Schu and Ms. Pillsbury. To his shame, neither of them looked surprised. Ms. Pillsbury even offered him a small smile that he's sure was meant to be reassuring.

As he felt his cheeks burn, he groaned again and buried his face in his hands. Of course they weren't surprised, surely they had done their research... read about all the signs and symptoms. Hadn't he done the same thing, all those years ago? Would the kids at school do that research when the rumors started? The thought made him nauseous.

His mother was still talking, still crying. "We never understood why," she was saying. "It was all so out of character. How could we not have known? How could we have let this happen?"

Ryder's father was looking stricken. Under his breath, he kept repeating "Oh my God, oh my God."

Finally he asked with barely controlled rage in his voice, "Where is this pervert now? What did she do to you, son?"

At that precise moment, the door to the office opened and a teenage girl barged in, "Principal Figgins, I just wanted to see if-oh I'm sorry," She said quickly, upon realizing her mistake. Ryder's curiosity got the best of him and he glanced up to see who she was. It was a cheerleader. He thought her named was Shayla, but he couldn't be sure. No doubt she knew who he was though, given his status on the football team. How much had she heard? He wondered. He knew it was probably enough to make sure some version of the truth made it all over school in record time. She gave him a look as she backed out of the office-it was half apologetic and half excitedly curious. Ryder ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

"Can we stop now?" he asked, his voice tired and shaky.

"No, I want to know everything," his father was saying, but Ryder knew he wasn't doing anymore talking right then.

"Mr. Lynn, perhaps this is a conversation that you all can continue at home," Mr. Schu said to Ryder's great relief. He glanced at his parents and they each gave him a searching, distraught look before his father finally nodded in agreement.

"Let's go home, sweetie," his mom said. But Ryder thought about the stack of English notes he still had to get through from yesterday, and he knew if he missed another half day of school he would never catch up.

"I want to stay here," he said quietly, pleading. "We can talk more when I get home this afternoon." When they seemed reluctant, he continued, he voice shaky, "Please. It's not going to go away. It's too late." He voice broke and a few tears slipped past his guard at this last part.

His mother started to protest, but his father whispered something mercifully persuasive in her ear and she nodded, already starting to cry some more. When he stood up to leave, his mother pulled him into a deep hug. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry we let this happen," she said. The pain in her voice made Ryder want to shatter, he buried his faced in her shoulder and tried not to fall apart.

"It's okay," he whispered to her, even though it wasn't.

His father clapped a firm hand on his shoulder but wouldn't quite meet his gaze, and then both of his parents made their way out of the door. Ryder turned to go, but found that the hallway outside of the front office was filled with people. Staring in through the glass, giving him sympathetic and searching looks were Jake and Kitty. They must have heard his name over the loudspeaker and come by after the bell rang. Ryder knew he'd have to talk to both of them sometime, but he wasn't sure he had it in him.

He jumped slightly as Mr. Schu put a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe you can wait here until the bell rings and then head to your next class?"

It was a kind offer, and Ryder gratefully agreed. Mr. Schu seemed guilty and apologetic, like it was his fault that Ryder's life had been blown wide open. But Ryder knew that it wasn't Mr. Schu's fault, and even though it was a tempting thought, he knew it wasn't his fault either. It was her's. That woman who had messed with him 5 years ago.

Thankfully, none of the adults tried to talk to Ryder for the remaining 2 minutes of the class break. When the warning bell rang, Ryder set off a quick clip to his next class. Jake was in there, waiting for him, but Ryder shot him the most obvious "don't ask" look that he could muster.

**To be continued...**

**Reviews feed the muse!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So here's the conclusion to this two-parter. If you don't like overdoses of teenage angst, this probably won't be your cup of tea - but either way, feel free to read on and find out. Like I said in the last part, I have some thoughts for future related pieces - but I'm drowning in final papers so it will be awhile on those. **

**No beta - all mistakes are mine.**

**BTW - it's hard to know if what I'm writing is any good without reviews. So if you read it and like it, please take a moment to write a review. Many thanks.**

**DISCLAIMER: I'm not Ryan Murphy.**

**WARNING: same story, same child abuse subject matter.**

Ryder had known the news would get out, especially after the cheerio had walked in on his meeting, but he had no idea how quickly it would happen. By the next class break, he could swear he was hearing whispers, and by lunchtime he was absolutely positive that people were talking about him. Between his reading incident that morning and the meeting with Figgins, it was hard to say which rumor about him was being spread. But he took comfort, at least, when he overheard "dyslexia" whispered a few times.

What little comfort such whispers offered him, however, was eradicated by his experience in gym class. It was the last period of the day, and they'd been doing running drills that thankfully kept conversation to a minimum.

Afterwards, in the locker room, things came to a head. As he was finishing up with his shower, a couple of the senior guys from the football team approached him.

"Hey quarterback, I hear you're afraid of the lady touch," one of them sneered at him, while the other laughed and moved threateningly close to Ryder.

"Keep away from me, Schulz," Ryder growled, but the two boys just sniggered and moved in closer.

"Or what, Lynn? You gonna cry rape on us too?"

Ryder tried to shove his way between them, but they pushed him back against the wall.

"What? You think you can take us? You couldn't even take a teenage girl!" the second one said.

"You're not gonna cry about it are you?" The instigator said, and Ryder was horrified to realize that there were tears burning in his eyes. He hoped the water from the shower was enough to hide the damning evidence.

"Screw you guys." He said. He had resigned himself to a pretty bad fight, when he heard a familiar voice coming from behind the two bullies.

"Hey!" Jake called out. Apparently he really wasn't kidding about the whole protector thing. More surprising was the crowd that followed Jake into the shower room. Close behind him were Sam, Artie, and Blaine.

"Do we have a problem here, Ryder?" Sam asked. Moving toward him.

Ryder looked at the guys who were challenging him. They looked a lot more uncertain now that they were the ones outnumbered.

"I think these guys were just leaving, right?" He said, offering an arched eyebrow to the two.

"Are these guys your personal bodyguard or something?" One of them asked him, struggling for a way to escape the scene with dignity.

"Don't be jealous, Gus. You're just not cool enough to have your own posse." Artie said, wheeling his chair threateningly close to the football players toes.

"Come on, Alex," he said, "Let's get out of here. We've got better things to do."

"Yeah like girls," the other said, "Something not all of us are afraid of, Lynn."

With that they shoved their way between the Glee guys and out of the locker room.

Ryder was suddenly acutely aware that he was the only one not wearing any clothes. Apparently, Blaine noticed too because he quickly threw a towel his way.

"Thanks... and thanks." He said with a grateful shrug and a small smile as he wrapped the towel around his waist.

"Don't sweat it, bro." Jake said, clapping a hand on his back.

"Yeah, we got you." Artie offered.

As the other boys made their way out of the locker room, Jake hung back while Ryder threw his clothes back on. Ryder knew what he wanted to talk about and truthfully, he had no desire to relive this terrible, awful day for the benefit of his friend's curiosity. But he felt like he owed him after what had just happened.

"So..." Jake started slowly. "Mr. Schu reported it?"

"Yeah, yeah he told Figgins. And they called in my parents." Ryder said, the images from that meeting still seared in his brain. He knew there was more of the same waiting for him at home.

"Wow. Man. How did they - uh - respond?" Jake asked, clearly wondering if he was crossing any boundaries.

Ryder shrugged. "How you would expect, I guess. They want to talk more." He glanced at Jake and licked his lips nervously.

"I'm really not excited about going home." He paused heavily. HIs voice got thinner as he continued. "They're gonna make me tell them everything, Jake. My dad wants a fucking play by play."

He took a deep breath and tried to steady himself.

"Hey." Jake said, offering Ryder a way out of this painful conversation. But Ryder shook his head.

"I just... I knew when I told Glee Club that I was opening the box on all of this, but" his voice cracked and he took another stabilizing breath. "I didn't know it would feel so much like... reliving it. I, um, I don't know how much more of it I can take."

Jake nodded in understanding.

"Do you want to come over to my house? I've got an Xbox..." He said it with such a goofy grin that Ryder couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Thanks man, but they're just gonna worry until we talk. Besides, you've gotta be getting tired of all my angsty crying shit." He offered a sheepish glance at Jake and rubbing at his face, which was growing slightly pink.

Jake gave him an annoyed little shove on his shoulder.

"Ryder, jeez man. Promise me with all the stuff you've got going on you are not wasting energy worrying about what I think about you." He shrugged and dropped his voice a little bit. "Besides, we both know that one day it's going to be me crying on your shoulder and I like knowing that... uh... that you won't be able to make fun of me. So we're fine." When Ryder didn't respond, Jake clapped a hand on his shoulder and lowered his face in front of Ryder's so he would be forced to look up at him.

His eyes were a little red, but he smiled. "Yeah, okay." He said finally. And then, after a moment, "I should go. Time to face the music." He turned back to Jake when he got to the door. "Wish me luck?"

Jake nodded and gave him a sympathetic look. "Good luck, man. Call me if you change your mind about hanging out."

With one last heavy sigh, Ryder turned and walked out of the locker room. Jake watched him go, wishing he had more to offer by way of comfort than warm beer and Xbox. He knew Ryder needed support, and he knew that he wasn't the only one who wanted to be that support. Even with their initial lackluster reaction, he knew the Glee Club had been worrying for Ryder and looking for a way to prove that they supported him and that he really could trust the. If only he could come up with way for them to show it...

GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG 

Ryder's conversation with his parents was every bit as painful as he feared it would be. His mother looked like she might fall apart at any moment, and she kept staring at him with wide, teary eyes like she was looking for the son she didn't know that she had lost for years ago. His father clearly didn't know how to deal, so he was channeling his energy into anger and methodical analysis of every minute detail. He demanded that Ryder tell him every last detail and seemed oblivious to the fact that his wife was weeping beside him and Ryder was trembling from the memory and the shame he felt. When Ryder told them she had been arrested for doing it to some other kid, his dad wasn't satisfied. He wanted her to get sentenced for what she did to *Ryder,* and the thought of giving all these same humiliating details in front of a courtroom full of strangers-not to mention the girl herself-had Ryder on the verge of a panic attack.

"Dad stop!" he said finally, exhausted and ready to break down. "I can't do anymore of this right now. I'm going to Jake's."

With that, he walked out of his house-his mother calling after him. He texted Jake once he was outside, hoping that it wasn't too late to take him up on his offer to hang out.

"Hey Jake," he typed. "Changed my mind. Think I could still come over?"

Jake responded quickly. "Sure. I figured you might. You okay?"

Ryder couldn't bring himself to respond. He wasn't even sure he knew the answer to Jake's question anymore. It was a long walk to Jake's place, but Ryder was grateful for the chance to get some air and try to reign in his emotions.

Jake was waiting for him on the porch. Ryder figured his face must be saying a lot because Jake looked worriedly at him as he walked up.

"That bad, huh?" He asked softly. Ryder rubbed a weary hand over his face.

"You have no idea." He said.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Jake's question seemed sincere, but Ryder could hardly imagine that he was really interested in all the dirty details. He shook his head.

"Trust me, you don't want to hear it."

"Ryder, what did I say earlier? It's okay. You can tell me." Jake said, a slight tone of exasperation creeping into his voice. He didn't know how to make this kid trust him.

Ryder was quiet for a long moment and then he began to speak-barely above a whisper-as if he didn't trust his voice to say the words.

"When I talk about it-about what happened, all the memories come flooding back. It's like I'm still fucking eleven years old...in that shower. But my dad doesn't get it. He made me tell him everything she did to me, Jake." He took a calming breath and swiped at his eyes.

"He wanted to know if she made me have sex with her. And then when I said no, he said 'well thank God for that' as if all the stuff she did do to me... the stuff that she... made me do... what she made... um... happen to me, as if it wasn't that bad." He looked up at Jake. "It was though. It was really, really bad."

"I know, man." Jake said, and he sounded like he really meant it. After a moment, he glanced at Ryder - looking nervous.

"Hey dude, I don't want to weird you out or anything, but, uh, do you think I could give you a hug?"

The question took Ryder a back. It wasn't something teenage guys did, but the thought sounded comforting and he knew he needed comfort. Finally he nodded. "Okay."

They hugged, feeling awkward for a moment, and then Ryder buried his face in Jake's shoulder. He knew he looked ridiculous and hoped like hell that no one from school walked by just then, but he had to admit, it felt nice just to have someone hold him up for a minute.

When they separated, they didn't look at each other for a minute - feeling a bit embarrassed about their uncharacteristic moment. Then Ryder groaned angrily.

"It's not fair, Jake. I've been carrying this secret around for 5 years, trying to deal with it on my own. Now that my parents know, they're more worried about making themselves feel better than what I need! I just... I know this is pathetic, but, I just want there to be people I can trust. You know, trust to... help me." He blushed a little at the admission.

"You have people, Ryder. I'm here, okay?"

"I know, man, I'm just-" Ryder started, but Jake cut him off.

"No, listen man. I'm here, but you don't just have me, okay? I know the Glee kids didn't react the way you had hoped, but they're here for you now. They want you to know you really can trust them."

Ryder looked nervous and unsure, but he dared to look up at Jake with a little hope in his eyes.

"Don't get mad," Jake started, "but I told Marley what happened this afternoon." Ryder groaned, but Jake kept going. "She cares, man. And she was hoping we'd come hang out at her house tonight. What do you say?"

Ryder shook his head, feeling uncomfortable. He liked this time with Jake, and he trusted Marley too, but he didn't know about hanging out with both of them. "I don't know, Jake. I don't think I can handle being the third wheel right now."

Jake held up his hands. "You won't be, I swear." And then, after a moment, "do you trust me?"

Ryder studied him carefully, and then finally nodded. Jake went inside to tell his mom and then they headed off together in the direction of Marley's house.

While they were waiting for her to answer the door, Ryder realized he felt weirdly nervous. He wondered if all this truth telling had screwed him over socially forever - if he would always feel nervous around his friends, knowing they knew so much embarrassing information about his life.

GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG 

It was Ms. Rose who answered the door, and the look on her face as she pulled Ryder in for a hug told him plainly that she knew everything. Of course she did, she worked at the school after all. He pushed down his embarrassment and figured he ought to get used to it.

"They're in the basement hanging out." She said to Jake with a knowing smile, and Ryder wondered who "they" was. He didn't have to wait long to find out.

As they walked down the stairs and into the basement hang out room, he found himself greeted not just by Marley, but by the entire Glee Club. Before he could even adjust to this new situation, Artie was playing his guitar and they were all singing "Stand By Me" to him. He felt his heart swell as the old familiar words lifted him up out of the misery that had defined his day. One by one, they came up to hug him and he greeted them each warmly with shining eyes. When the song was over, he managed to say a choked up "thank you." He turned to Jake and Marley, who were standing together on one side of the room, looking at him with big grins on their faces.

"How did this... how did you...?" He asked, the question trailing off. Jake looked a little sheepish.

"After you left this afternoon, I figured I would probably be hearing from you tonight. I called the rest of the club and told them you might need... comfort... and they all agreed to be on alert to come hang out if needed. When you texted me, I called Marley and she called everybody else."

Ryder glanced around the room. From every direction, smiling faces of Glee Club members greeted him. Sam spoke next.

"Look, we know we didn't have the best response when you first told your secret, but we-uh-we're a family. And we wanted you to know that we really are here for you."

Ryder found that he couldn't speak, but he nodded gratefully at Sam.

After a brief, awkward, silence, Kitty spoke up offering Ryder a knowing look.

"And because we know you are probably sick and tired of talking about all of this, we came up with an awesome plan for us all to hang out and have fun without all of this angsty crap bringing us down." She gave him her best smirk knowing he understood where she was coming from.

Artie held up a stack of movies. "Superhero movie marathon."

Marley moved closer to Ryder. "We were thinking a Glee sleepover. Everyone has told their parents that we've got an important group project and that it'll be such a late night that we're just going sleep over." When Ryder glanced up, where Ms. Rose undoubtedly was, Marley went on. "My mom is in on it." She looked a little apologetic. "She heard about what's going on. She said, sometimes rules are meant to be broken. So... if you want to stay, you can just tell your mom that you're staying at Jake's house for the night."

The idea of a night of movie watching surrounded by friends and not thinking about everything that had happened over the last few days sounded perfect. But then he thought about how he'd woken up that morning, and the thought of waking up screaming from a nightmare about getting molested in front of all of his friends sounded... well, way less than perfect. He shuffled his feet.

"I don't know... I probably shouldn't..." He started. He looked to Jake. Jake was giving him that same reassuring gaze he seemed to have perfected.

"Dude, do you trust us? It's okay."

And even though he still felt nervous, Ryder found himself agreeing to the plan. They all settled into comfortable positions on the couches and the floor. Ms. Rose brought down popcorn and sodas, and they fought for about 10 minutes over which movie to watch first before finally agreeing to let Ryder choose. He chose Avengers, and as they watched it, he couldn't help but steal a glance around the room at his own team of protectors. Blaine and Tina were throwing popcorn into each others' mouths, Brittany and Sam were curled up together on a chair, Artie and Unique were arguing over the merits of various costumes, and on the couch, Marley and Jake sat on one side of Ryder and Kitty was on the other. Ryder felt nothing but grateful for this family that surrounded him.

As the movie marathon continued, various Glee Clubbers drifted off to sleep, curling up with blankets on the floor or furniture. After the third movie, only Marley, Jake, Kitty, and Ryder were still awake and they were all struggling to keep their eyes open. As the credits on Spiderman rolled, Marley suggested that they call it a night. Ryder panicked.

"No!" He exclaimed, and then-trying to act cool he continued, "We still haven't watched the Dark Night trilogy. It can't be a true superhero marathon without them." His three friends eyed him incredulously.

"Ryder," Jake started, "we're all beat man. You've drifted off like 3 times in the last hour!"

"Yeah, did you know you drool in your sleep?" Kitty asked and Ryder quickly rubbed a hand against his mouth to check. She laughed.

"Come on, guys," he said, knowing he was sounding a little too desperate. "Just a little bit longer?"

"Why don't you want to go to sleep?" Marley asked, curious, but Ryder just looked down at his hands.

Kitty was studying him carefully. Finally she said in a knowing tone, "Ryder..."

He looked up at her, and he could tell that she had figured it out. "Don't." He whispered.

"It's okay," she said, gently - the tone of voice still seemed strange coming from her.

"What's okay? What's up?" Jake asked. He and Marley were looking back and forth from Kitty to Ryder.

Kitty kept her eyes on Ryder, smiling reassuringly. "He's afraid to go to sleep."

Ryder blushed a little to hear it said aloud, looking around quickly to see if any of the other kids were awake to hear. No one stirred.

"Why?" Marley asked, confused.

Jake looked puzzled at first too, but suddenly he seemed to get it, and he and Kitty spoke simultaneously. "Nightmares," they both said and Ryder sighed.

"I wondered about that... when I saw how tired you looked this morning. I know how revisited bad memories can stir up old problems." Kitty said and Ryder was a little amazed to find she'd been paying such close attention to him. She went on, "I know how it feels, you know."

Marley and Jake both glanced at her with curiosity, but they were too focused on Ryder to question her.

"Having you been having nightmares again?" Jake asked.

Ryder started to answer, and then cleared his throat when his voice came out sounding a little too high pitched. "Just last night. The, um, the same one as before. After... it happened. I don't want-" he felt his face heat up as he imagined again waking up from a nightmare here. "I don't want to have it again. Especially... not in front of everyone. This whole thing has been embarrassing enough without all of Glee Club getting woken up by me screaming and crying."

Kitty threw a comforting arm around his shoulder, and Marley reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze.

"You don't have to be afraid, Ryder." Marley said.

"We're here." Jake told him, bumping his shoulder against the other boy's.

"If you fall asleep and have a nightmare, we'll be here when you wake up. We'll make sure you're okay. Okay?" Marley was looking at him with such loving concern. He knew she meant well, but the whole situation just made him feel humiliated. Kitty seemed to read his thoughts.

"And if anyone here tries to make fun of you for it, we'll beat them up." She said matter of factly, and Ryder knew it wasn't a bluff.

Ryder hid his face in his hands. "God, this is so ridiculous!" He exclaimed. "I just feel like some pathetic little kid who's afraid of the dark. I'm too freaking old to need taking care of."

Jake was looking at him with a slightly stung expression, and Ryder realized his mistake with the "afraid of the dark" comment. He knew he couldn't apologize outright without giving away the secret Jake had told him the week before, so he tried to apologize with his expression. Jake seemed to get it, because he shook his head and offered a smile. Jake put his hand on Ryder's shoulder.

"Listen. Maybe you shouldn't feel like a scared kid, but you do. Just like you shouldn't have had to deal with all that adult stuff on your own when you were eleven, but you did. And maybe you don't want to feel like you need taking care of, but maybe right now, tonight, you do. And lucky for you, you're here with three friends who are volunteering for that job. So trust us, and let yourself get some sleep."

Ryder rubbed his face and willed himself to look into his friends faces, eerily lit in the dark room by the television screen. Each of them were looking at him earnestly, understandingly, and without a trace of the judgment he was afraid of.

"Okay." He said finally. "But... can we just start the next movie?"

They agreed, and Jake got up to put in the next movie while the rest of them rearranged themselves. Ryder stretched out on the floor with his back against the couch and Kitty started running her fingers soothingly through his hair. Marley gave his hand another squeeze and stretched out on the couch, putting her head in Jake's lap when he resumed his place on the couch. They watched the movie silently for a long while and eventually Ryder could hear the sleeping breaths of both Marley and Kitty behind him.

Jake's quiet voice caught him off guard. "Hey Ryder?" He whispered.

"Yeah?"

"If I ask you a question, do you promise not to kill me?" Jake asked, sounding hesitant.

"Um, I guess."

"Well, I just wondered... are you worried at all about some of the other 'fall out' symptoms returning... besides the nightmares?"

It took Ryder a second to figure out what Jake meant, and then found himself blushing again. "Oh that? I mean, no! I'm sixteen, Jake!" He exclaimed defensively, trying to keep his voice as quiet as possible.

They were both quiet for a second, and then Ryder sighed.

"I really hope not." He finally admitted with a groan. "God, what would I do?"

Jake was quiet for a moment and then, "Do you want me to keep you awake?" He offered.

Ryder thought about it. "I'm so tired. I don't know. I can't believe we're even having this conversation."

They went back to being silent for awhile, and then Jake spoke into the silence again.

"Well, how about this? If the worst should happen - and of course it won't - well, we can play it off like the whole 'hand in warm water' prank. I'll take the blame." When Ryder didn't respond, Jake added, "It's better than nothing, right?"

He heard Ryder give a bashful laugh. "Yeah." He said finally. "That is the coolest, weirdest thing that anyone has ever offered to do for me."

"You're welcome," Jake said, with a laugh of his own.

With that, Ryder finally found himself drifting off to sleep. He was still afraid of the dreams that sleep might bring, but he was grateful to be in the company he was in.

As he closed his eyes, he thought back over his seemingly endless day. It had been the day from hell, but somehow, thanks to his Glee family, it had turned into one of the happiest nights of his life.

**Viva la angst! Please review!**


End file.
